Focus On: True Flight Aerospace

Published 1:06 am Sunday, January 13, 2008

VALDOSTA — The resumes are piling up at True Flight Aerospace’s temporary quarters in the former Holland Flying Service offices on the general aviation side of the Valdosta Regional Airport. Plenty of qualified locals are clamoring to join in what could be a historic step in general aviation for the entire region.

True Flight Aersopace officials hope to be building a new breed of the Tiger aircraft in a new 60,000-square-foot manufacturing center by the end of February, President, CEO and owner Kevin Lancaster and Vice President of Operations Loyd Montague said.

The Tiger, as its commonly known in the aviation world, is a general aviation aircraft with four seats and a sliding canopy for entry and ventilation. It’s a very popular aircraft in Europe and True Flight Aerospace is also making plans to tap into markets in Australia, the Pacific Rim, Great Britain, India and China, the latter two being the fastest growing general aviation markets in the world, Lancaster said.

Local interest in the potential for good paying jobs at the aircraft plant has drawn a stack of about 100 resumes from everyone from former Moody AFB personnel to manufacturing employees who’ve been laid off from other industries here, Lancaster said.

Hopefully they won’t have to wait too much longer to find out if they’ll be hired, he said.

True Flight Aerospace plans to break ground on a 14.1- acre site to place the metal 60,000-square-foot building within 30 days, in early February. Vulcan Steel of Adel will construct the building.

“We hope to have our first airplane built in time for the Oshkosh, Wis., air show, which is known as an aviation mecca where everyone brings their new products,” Lancaster said. “That’s if all goes well.”

By the end of this year, the company expects to hire 60 to 80 full-time employees, and by the end of 2009, will have a total of 120 to 140 employees to keep up with an estimated annual production of more than 100 planes, he said.

“You usually try to produce one plane for every one employee you hire as a rule of thumb. It’ll depend on the market but it’s looking real good for us,” he said. “The aviation business is kind of like the boat business. The rule of thumb is you don’t build a plane until it’s sold. You build to order and to the customer’s specifications.”

The new building will be located on the Madison Highway’s general aviation side, just north of where Perimeter Road intersects the Madison Highway. Currently, True Flight Aerospace has six full-time employees in house in the former Holland Flying Service offices and hangar just before the flight tower on the Madison Highway, in those pale blue metal buildings near the radar tower.

The company relocated from Martinsburg, W.Va., on Nov. 1, 2007, officially. The heritage of the Tiger aircraft will now become part of Valdosta’s aviation history, Lancaster said.

The (True Flight) company initiated its relocation from Martinsburg on Nov. 1, 2007. “The Tiger, with its proud heritage will now become part of Valdosta’s aviation legacy,” Lancaster said.

The plane that was to become the Tiger was first built in the 1960s by American Aviation in Cleveland, Ohio as the “Traveler.”

In the mid 1970s, Grumman American Aircraft bought American Aviation and moved the operation to Savannah where the Traveler was re-engineered and enhanced to create the Tiger.

In 1978, Gulfstream purchased Grumman American and continued to make the Tiger until late 1979, when they elected to focus on building business jets.

After being dormant for a few years, American General Aviation Corp. bought Gulfstream’s piston aircraft line and in 1989 moved the operation to Greenville, Miss.

In 1998, production of the Tiger was again moved by new owners to Martinsburg, W.Va., and operated under the name Tiger Aircraft, LLC.

True Flight acquired Tiger Aircraft, LLC last year and decided to return production to Georgia — this time to Valdosta, Lancaster’s hometown.

In Valdosta, the Tiger will become known worldwide as the True Flight Aerospace Tiger, opening a whole new chapter in the history of the popular airplane, Lancaster said.

So far, the company’s transition into Valdosta has been smooth, he said.

“The local government officials, including the mayor’s office, the (Valdosta Lowndes County) Industrial Authority and the (Valdosta Lowndes County) Airport Authority have been wonderful,” Lancaster said. “We have to turn in an FAA notification of commencement of construction no later than 48 hours prior to the beginning of construction, but that is just a formality. We are ready to roll.”

City permit applications will begin processing this week, he said.



Q: Interest has been heavy in potential employment at your new company. Can people still apply?



A: Yes, certainly. All they need to do is bring us a resume to our temporary offices or to the offices of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority. We are looking for what I like to call “good hands” people who are, well, good with their hands. We can teach them the skills if they have that kind of inclination in those areas. What a lot of people don’t know is that we will have an upholstery shop and a fiberglass and composite components shop in the plant. So there’s a lot of different things people can do.



Q: How has the city permitting process been for your new building?



A: We begin the permit process next week and don’t foresee any major obstacles. Everyone has been just great.



Q: How many planes will you build in one year?



A: At full speed, with 120 to 140 employees, we will be able to build more than 100 planes a year.



Q: Has there really been an international interest in the True Flight Aerospace Tiger?



A: It’s been amazing. I have had inquiries from Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia and the Pacific Rim. And we have been officially certified by the Chinese government as legitimate aircraft manufacturers, and there’s only a few other airplane companies outside of China who have earned that right. That means we can sell the Tiger all over China. And we’re also going to sell the plane in India. China and India are the two fastest growing general aviation markets in the world. The U.S. dollar is weakened abroad, but the silver lining is that a weakened dollar also inspires foreign markets to buy American made products because they’re cheaper. That’s great for a company like ours. All of that is not even counting the healthy national domestic market we have here in the U.S. So we’re very excited for the potential we have in Valdosta.



True Flight Aerospace

Address: 2950 Madison Highway

Phone: 229-242-6337

Web site: www.trueflightaerospace.com

Owner: Kevin Lancaster